Houston – When a life is on the line, an ambulance is the first thing Houstonians expect to see. 2 Investigates found the Houston Fire Department’s environmentally friendly ambulances created issues that affected the department’s ability to respond to calls.
The HFD District Chief in Resource Management sent an email in August listing various consistent failures forcing ambulances off the streets that KPRC 2 News Mario Diaz uncovered.
The head of the department, Chief Thomas Muñoz telling us, “That’s a huge concern.”
The email titled “New Frazer Ambulance Reliability Report” states the departments “recurring issues” have resulted in “reducing fleet readiness and response capacity.”
The ambulances were approved and purchased under previous Mayor Sylvester Turner. His administration pushed for more environmentally friendly ambulances. In October of 2022, with no opposition, city council approved the $5.9 million taxpayer funded purchase of “21 complete ambulance cab and chassis mounted with modular bodies from Frazer”.
According to city records, the ambulances included a special system to help power its electrical system without requiring the engine running consistently. The city also touting the ambulances would allow HFD to “promote cleaner air for the environment”.
Mayor John Whitmire was unaware of the issue until 2 Investigates showed him the email.
“I am not familiar with electric ambulances, I don’t think it makes any more sense than electric tanks,” said Mayor Whitmire.
“Our first responders are our highest priority. They need the ambulances, the public needs the ambulances,” he added.
Marty Lancton is the President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. He also did not know of the issue until 2 Investigates came knocking.
He tells us, “Seconds matter, it’s not politics. This is reality and this is about people’s lives.”
Beyond what was outlined in the department chief’s email, crews are now facing problems with charging the units.
“We don’t have electricity in the back of an ambulance because we don’t have enough time to charge them or have the right charging ports,” said Lancton.
Chief Muñoz went into greater detail for us.
“The main thing is the fuel source right? Fuel source you got to the station, you plug it in basically. It’s not an electric car but you have to plug it in to maintain it and with that said, the run volume that we do does not sometimes allow for that hour and a half to two hours to be static at a station to be able to support that,” he said.
When we put it into layman’s terms of too busy and not enough time to charge, Muñoz without hesitation said, “100%.”
2 Investigates sent the internal HFD email to Frazer for their perspective. A spokesperson for the company sent us the following:
Regarding your inquiry, it is our understanding the units referenced have been serviced and have returned to service. We continue to take the Houston Fire Department’s readiness concerns seriously and we have always acted with urgency alongside HFD and our component suppliers.
Chief Muñoz, who took over the department after the switch was made revealed the environmentally friendly ambulances are forty-thousand dollars more than traditional ambulances. He admits he was unaware if at any point an ambulance went down during an emergency.
The Fire Chief tells us the city will no longer purchase these types of ambulances in the future.